Leapfrog: 87% of hospitals not taking necessary steps to prevent infection

A Sept. 10 Leapfrog Group survey of 1,256 hospitals concluded that 87 percent of U.S. hospitals do not have all the recommended policies in place to prevent many of the most common hospital-acquired infections.

The survey was conducted in response to CMS's new policy to not pay for specific hospital-acquired infections. The Leapfrog report stated:

"Each year two million people – one out of every 20 who obtain care at an American hospital – contract an infection during their care; 90,000 of them die. On average, so-called hospital-acquired infections (HAI) add over $15,000 to a patient’s hospital bill, amounting to over $30 billion a year wasted on avoidable costs."

A synopsis of the report can be accessed here.